Pubdate: Sun, 21 Oct 2012
Source: Telegraph, The (Nashua, NH)
Copyright: 2012 Telegraph Publishing Company
Contact:  http://www.nashuatelegraph.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/885
Author: Kevin Landrigan

STATE'S MEDICINAL MARIJUANA PROSPECTS BOOSTED BY SUPPORT FROM
GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES

CONCORD - New Hampshire stands a much better chance of legalizing
medical use of marijuana than at any time in state history.

That's because for the first time, both major political parties have
nominated a candidate - Republican Ovide Lamontagne, of Manchester,
and Democrat Maggie Hassan, of Exeter - who embrace the change.

Three-time Libertarian candidate John Babiarz, of Grafton, likewise
has endorsed New Hampshire becoming the 18th state to make marijuana
available to chronically ill patients.

This stands in stark contrast to the last eight years.

Outgoing Gov. John Lynch, a four-term Democrat, said conceptually that
he wasn't against the idea, but he vetoed two attempts by the
Legislature to make it happen: in 2009, when Democrats were in power,
and again in June, when Republicans held the power.

Lynch raised concerns about lack of oversight and risk of
proliferation.

In late June, the Senate's 13-10 vote fell shy of the two-thirds
majority needed to override Lynch's veto.

Rep. Cindy Rosenwald, D-Nashua, was the prime negotiator for the
edition that lawmakers also adopted three years ago, again to no avail.

"I'm really pleased this has not been a divisive issue in this
campaign and that we will have a governor who can help us make this
happen," Rosenwald said.

But to become law, a governor would have to overcome strong opposition
from law enforcement and perhaps from the attorney general.

State Police Maj. Russell Conte maintained that medical marijuana laws
in other states have either failed to restrict who can receive it
legally or have led to abuses by unscrupulous residents.

Opponents point out that in Montana, for example, one in 33 residents
qualified for an identification card making them eligible to receive
medical marijuana.

That would translate here to about 40,000 residents.

"This is an extremely troubling issue that would change the face of
New Hampshire, but not for the better," Conte said.

Attorney General Michael Delaney opposed medical marijuana bills as
the state's top law enforcement official this year and earlier when he
served as Lynch's legal counsel.

Assistant Attorney General Karin Eckel said efforts to control
nonmedical, recreational use of marijuana in states that legalize it
have failed.

"Most, if not all, states have failed to keep the recreational use of
marijuana out of the medical marijuana equation," Eckel said in March,
speaking for Delaney.

Delaney's term ends in March, and it remains an open question whether
a Lamontagne or Hassan appointment of someone different next year
would publicly defy state and local police sentiment against this
social reform.

And as we saw under Lynch's years at the Statehouse, the devil is in
the details of how such a legalization bill is crafted.

Lamontagne and Hassan have given clues about what kind of medical
marijuana program they would get behind.

"I support medicinal marijuana if it is properly prescribed by a
physician for the right reasons and if it is dispensed safely by a
pharmacist," Lamontagne said earlier this month during a debate on New
Hampshire Public Radio. "We ought to allow for our citizens access to
maximum health care, and that may include in some cases medicinal 
marijuana."

Hassan was Senate majority leader in 2009 when the Legislature
submitted the first such bill that Lynch vetoed.

"I actually voted for a bill that provided prescriptions for medicinal
marijuana with a very controlled distribution system," Hassan said.

Doctors may not prescribe and pharmacists may not dispense medical
marijuana because under federal law, it remains a Class 1 drug that's
illegal for them to order for citizens.

States with these laws instead permit doctors to certify that
marijuana is "medically necessary" for their patients to receive
because they suffer from persistent pain.

For the last three years, these proposals limited access to marijuana
to those who suffered a qualifying debilitating condition that
included cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis,
severe nausea, and severe and unrelenting muscle spasms.

Hassan's support and reference to a distribution system might not have
stood up to the 2012 edition of the campaign.

The most recent bill would have let qualifying patients directly
receive up to 6 ounces of marijuana and to cultivate up to six mature
plants and 12 seedlings.

The one on which Rosenwald worked and for which Hassan voted would
have created several compassion care centers at which patients and/or
their caregivers could acquire the drug.

The state would award contracts and regulate the operation of these
care centers, which would have to be nonprofit vendors.

State health officials have said such a network would require at least
$200,000 in startup costs and about $75,000 annually to police the
distribution.

The other, large unknown next year is the makeup of the
Legislature.

Supporters secured solid backing this past year - 228-91 in the House,
13-9 in the Senate - even though Republicans had at least a 3-to-1
supermajority in both branches.

Most observers expect Democrats to pick up some seats, which, based on
past voting patterns, might increase winning margins for medicinal
marijuana.
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MAP posted-by: Matt